Merlin: Hunt!Fail: How Not to Hunt Like Prince Arthur and Why

[crabby_lioness]

(I still lack auto-formatting. Grr.)

Merlin Hunt!Fail: Introduction (Note to Fanon) and Physics 101

Comments

[zahrawithaz]

Thanks for this. As a grown-up farm-girl, I appreciate it. Though I do have to point out that rabbits are as much of an anachronism in Merlin's supposedly-tenth-century setting as tomatoes are. (I know, I know

[crabby_lioness]

I appreciate what you're saying, and it's certainly appropriate to Robin Hood, but there are no Normans here. The Arthurian Legends are set in the Dark Ages, when the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings were the invaders, not the Normans. We learned in Lancelot that Uther and his original knights created the nobility themselves, they are not hereditary nobility. They are still in the process of setting up the framework of the rights of the hereditary nobility.

There's a lot more about this in that upcoming rant. :)

[zahrawithaz]

Yes, I completely agree that it's an anachronism--but the whole series is BUILT on anachronism. And in the hunting scene, I definitely feel that the writers are drawing on a generalized "nobles-go-hunting" model that's based on Norman ideas.

And the show has certainly tried hard to erase the historical position of the Anglo-Saxon & Viking elements, both in the names of incidental characters and by making Merlin's spells Old English.

[zahrawithaz]

Also--I can't wait for the upcoming rant about "the Old Religion"! I have one of those myself, so I wonder if we're irritated by the same things...

[crabby_lioness]

It's a two-part rant that comes down to "When the heck is this set, anyway?"

[buddleia]

Lovely post! This is one of the reasons why I adored The Once and Future King by T.H.White. He was so clear and interested in all the practicalities, including hunting.

[crabby_lioness]

That and his origin of Lancelot were his best features.

[cyberdigi]

Yeah! Merlin analysis :) Sorry I'm late.

I found the hunting scene strange, but not exactly for the same reason. More for the fact that Arthur believed or at least acted like he did that Cedric threw the kill shot...when Cedric was directly in front of the boar and the spear came from a perpendicular angel. Arthur and the other knights throw those things enough that they should know that that doesn't fly.

You bring up some very good points about the actual kill though. I'd assumed that Merlin had just by luck caught a major artery, which in retrospect still would have taken a couple minutes to bleed out.

[crabby_lioness]

Yeah! Merlin analysis :) Sorry I'm late.

Not nearly as late as I am with my other Torchwood and Merlin analyses, don't worry about it.

I found the hunting scene strange, but not exactly for the same reason. More for the fact that Arthur believed or at least acted like he did that Cedric threw the kill shot...when Cedric was directly in front of the boar and the spear came from a perpendicular angel. Arthur and the other knights throw those things enough that they should know that that doesn't fly.

In a melee situation, people get confused.

[cyberdigi]

Well for Arthur at least I wondered if he was kinda covering (providing we go with the assumption he's figured Merlin out). He looked right at Merlin like he expected him to say something.

Looking forward to your future analysises(sp?).

[crabby_lioness]

No problem. You can link to any of my posts.